


it's dangerous to go alone. (here, take this.)

by DJBunn3



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, more like rivals to lovers but like...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 17:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14898908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJBunn3/pseuds/DJBunn3
Summary: “Lance! Hold on!”Lance turns around, confused. Keith is running in the opposite direction of Red, who seems just as befuddled as he is, taking large steps up the ramp until the two of them are face to face. Without any warning, he grabs Lance by the back of the neck and pulls him closer.“Keith, what-” Lance starts, but he cuts himself off as he feels Keith’s lips press against his cheek. It’s rushed and panicked and over as quickly as it started, but he knows there’s no way he imagined it. Keith pulls back, his face flushed.“Don’t die out there, okay?” he says, dead serious.“I- I won’t,” Lance stammers, no less confused.“Good,” Keith states, then turns and runs back in the direction of his lion.





	it's dangerous to go alone. (here, take this.)

They’re not in a good position, to say the least.

Red and Black are pretty heavily damaged, to the point where they can’t form Voltron without some serious setbacks. Pidge has taken a hit to the head, so Allura had to call Coran to pull the green paladin out of the battle, meaning the castle’s shield is temporarily down so they can pull Green in. Hunk is pretty tied down at the moment, a swarm of enemy soldiers pinning Yellow to the ground and constantly dodging his attacks. Shiro is currently herding a group of defenseless citizens inside a cave with Black, barking orders at Lance and Keith to get to Red and Blue and provide cover for them.

Lance’s heartbeat is thrumming in his ears, as fast as a hummingbird’s and a thousand times louder, but he calls a confirmation back to Shiro. He has to get to Blue, who’d been sent to protect the castle on some sort of autopilot-mode while the shields are down. “Come on, girl!” he yells, knowing she’ll hear him even from so far away. Keith closes his eyes, probably calling Red down to them through their telepathic communication system. His bayard is clutched tightly in one hand, the sword mode temporarily disengaged.  His other hand is loose at his side.

“I’ll take the front,” Lance says loudly as soon as Keith opens his eyes. “You can keep ‘em off from further away. I don’t want the villagers to get burned.”

“Got it,” Keith agrees. Normally they’d probably argue over which of their lions was better suited for close combat, but today they’re cutting it too close to waste time with petty disagreements. They’re already at too much of a disadvantage--they don’t need anything else going wrong today.

Blue is approaching quickly, her eyes a bright yellow as she searches for a place to land. Red flies close to her, her gaze focused on Keith as they descend.

“Be careful out there, yeah?” Lance says as the lions approach, because they haven’t been in this bad of a situation in a long time and he’d kind of forgotten how scary it is. He and Keith may not be the best of friends, but they’re teammates, and that’s enough to make Lance hope that the red paladin isn’t killed out there.

Keith stares back at him for a second, his jaw set, before he promptly nods. “You too,” he says quickly.

Lance nods back, then turns. Blue has descended and is opening her mouth to let him in, already preparing to launch again. He’s barely made it up a third of the ramp before Keith is calling out his name.

“Lance! Hold on!”

Lance turns around, confused. Keith is running in the opposite direction of Red, who seems just as befuddled as he is, taking large steps up the ramp until the two of them are face to face. Without any warning, he grabs Lance by the back of the neck and pulls him closer.

“Keith, what-” Lance starts, but he cuts himself off as he feels Keith’s lips press against his cheek. It’s rushed and panicked and over as quickly as it started, but he knows there’s no way he imagined it. Keith pulls back, his face flushed.

“Don’t die out there, okay?” he says, dead serious.

“I- I won’t,” Lance stammers, no less confused.

“Good,” Keith states, then turns and runs back in the direction of his lion. Lance watches him go dazedly until Shiro barks something into the comms and he snaps back to reality. Blue is pushing him gently, reminding him that they still have a job to do and this is no time for drifting off.

He turns and sprints the rest of the way to the cockpit, intent on making up for lost time. His face burns with embarrassment, but he pushes it down in favor of focusing on the battle at hand. There will be plenty of time to think about Keith’s weird behavior later, he tells himself, launching Blue into the air.

For now, he’s got lives to save.

* * *

Things are kind of weird for a few days after the battle.

Everyone’s exhausted, which might be part of it. Pidge falls asleep at the table every day during breakfast, and Lance can barely drag himself out of bed. Shiro and Allura keep finding ways to make excuses not to train that day, and when Hunk brings it up, they say it’s just a recovery period.

That recovery period turns into a full week without practice, which might be the other part of why things are so weird. With nothing to fill up their time, the paladins take to exploring the castle to find something to do. For the most part they go in groups, Lance usually teaming up with Hunk and Pidge to mess around with castle tech or attempt to cook something better than food goo for dinner. Sometimes Lance goes off on his own, just to see what he can find.

He tends to run into Keith more often than he’d like, especially when he’s not with Hunk and Pidge. Things are kind of awkward between them, since Keith hadn’t bothered to explain the whole kiss incident afterwards and Lance hadn’t bothered asking. How would he even bring that up? He doesn’t have a clue, so he just tends to avoid the subject altogether. (Which means avoiding Keith altogether, so that probably doesn’t help the awkwardness.)

But eventually Allura decides that they’ve had enough of a break, and sends them all back to the training room for some drills. She works them harder than usual, and even makes Coran bring their lunch to the training room so they don’t waste more time than they need to. Training means there’s no time for small talk, which makes being around Keith a whole lot easier, and by the end of the day almost all of the strangeness between the two of them has dissipated.

They’re thrown into another battle barely a week later, only slightly less intense than the last one had been. All the lions are functional this time, and all the paladins are in fighting condition, so Lance figures they’re in a better position than before, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be fighting with all they’ve got.

“Hunk, Keith, you two take the ground,” Shiro instructs through the comms as they head to their respective lions in the hangar. “Pidge, the civilians. Lance, I want you with me in the sky.”

“Copy that,” Hunk agrees, powering Yellow up for launch.

“Shiro, are you sure?” Lance asks, pausing. “I could take the ground if you want Keith with you.”

“Your ice ray will be better for long distance,” Shiro argues. “The planet has a cold climate, so we won’t be disturbing the environment too much. Keith, I don’t want you using your fire powers unless it’s absolutely necessary, got it?”

“Yeah,” Keith replies, pausing behind Lance. The others are already climbing into their lions, and Hunk is already preparing for takeoff, so there’s nobody paying enough attention to witness when Keith kisses Lance on the cheek again, just as briefly as before.

“Don’t get hurt,” he says, already heading towards Red.

“Uh- Yeah!” Lance calls after, hand flying to his cheek. “Don’t die!”

“I never do,” Keith replies calmly, but Lance is still close enough to see the blush covering the back of his neck. He shakes his head, starting towards Blue before he can get too distracted again.

“Come on, girl,” he says. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

* * *

Once again, Keith refuses to acknowledge the kiss thing, and Lance refuses to ask about it. Maybe Keith kisses Shiro and Pidge and Hunk when he’s not looking, and it’s not even that big of a deal. Sure, he’s never seen it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

A couple of small battles pass over the course of two weeks, and Keith doesn’t do anything strange before either one. Lance even gives him an opportunity a few times, pausing outside of their lions and wishing Keith luck and even going so far as to stand a little bit too close. Keith had simply told him not to get hurt and dived into battle without a backwards glance.

_ He must be over his whole good-luck-kiss thing _ , Lance figures, and tries to shrug it off from then on. But for some reason he can’t. He keeps wondering why Keith had even bothered kissing him in the first place if he was just planning on stopping a week later. It’s not like he’s upset about it, though. He’s just curious.

“We’ll be meeting with the people of Tezita today,” Allura announces one morning during breakfast. “They’re considering joining our coalition, but they are a very strict and logic-based people. We’ll need to impress them, so everyone must be on their best behavior.”

“Tell that to Keith,” Pidge snorts, side-eyeing the red paladin. “He’s got the social skills of an unpickled pickle.”

“That’s just a cucumber,” Hunk states helpfully.

“Keith can stick with me,” Shiro says. “Apparently we’ll be attending one of their banquets, so the less socially-skilled of us probably shouldn’t wander around alone.”

“Gee, thanks,” Keith sighs, poking at his breakfast.

“It’s simply strategic, Keith,” Allura assures him. “The Tezitans are a powerful people. Having them join our coalition would be a large step towards taking the universe back from Zarkon and the Galra.”

“We’ll be departing shortly after breakfast,” Coran chimes in. “Just enough time for the six of you to spiffy up and practice your small talk.”

Lance finishes his breakfast quickly, changes into the Altean suit Coran had laid out for him, runs a brush through his hair and washes his face, and meets the others by one of the castle’s ships in record time.

Everyone else is dressed in Altean formal wear as well. Keith even has his hair tied up with a purple ribbon, which Lance has to admit does a good job of bringing out the violet in his eyes. Hunk has replaced his usual orange bandana with a cleaner, bright yellow one, and Pidge’s glasses are clean and shiny. Allura’s hair is down with her normal front strands pinned back with an intricate flower clip, and Shiro and Coran have their hair combed back neatly.

“Everyone’s looking wonderful!” Allura exclaims, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Just remember to be on your best behavior, and always bring the conversation back to the coalition.”

“We’ve got it, Allura,” Pidge promises, her fingers crossed behind her back.

“Excellent,” Coran says. “Shall we get going, Princess?”

They take one of the castle’s smaller ships, Allura telling them that they’ll arrive on Tezita in just under a varga. Keith keeps chewing on his nails--he always tends to get nervous before big social events, Lance notices--so he reaches over and swats Keith’s hand away from his mouth.

“What?” Keith asks, frowning at Lance and drawing his hand back.

“That’s really bad for your nails,” Lance chides. “Especially if you peel them back. Then they get all weak and flimsy.”

“Okay, jeez,” Keith sighs, but he chooses to sit on his hands instead of ignores Lance’s advice, so he takes it as a win.

As promised, they arrive on Tezita sooner than Lance had been expecting. A couple of tall, thin, orange-skinned guards greet them on the way in, guiding them down a long and incredibly narrow hallway towards the ballroom. Shiro and Hunk almost have to walk sideways, which Pidge finds pretty funny. Soon enough they’re out in the open, amongst a crowd of alien people flitting back and forth. Pidge and Hunk break away immediately, and Allura and Coran go to speak with the Tezitan leader, leaving Shiro, Keith and Lance alone.

“We’d better go socialize,” Shiro says, surveying the banquet room quickly. “Lance, you’ll be alright on your own, right?”

“Yeah,” Lance confirms. “I’ve got this.”

“Good. Keith, let’s get going, alright?”

Keith is already frowning, wiping his hands on his formalwear and chewing on his lip at the same time. Shiro sighs and heads towards the other side of the room, but Keith hesitates.

“You’ll be fine,” Lance says, patting him on the shoulder. And then, because he somehow feels like that’s not enough, he pulls Keith in and presses a quick kiss against his cheek. He pulls away and stumbles towards Hunk and Pidge, tossing a “Good luck!” over his shoulder as he goes. He doesn’t know what compelled him to do that, but he knows it was the right thing to do, and somehow that justifies it in his mind.

“Lance!” Hunk exclaims, waving him over. “Dude, their food is amazing! I have to talk to the chef.”

“Yeah, it’s awesome!” Pidge agrees. “Come try it!”

“I’m coming!” Lance replies, quickening his pace. Keith will be fine on his own. For now he just needs to relax and focus on the banquet.

* * *

“Lance?” Hunk’s face pops up on the castle ship’s main screen. “The rescue mission’s over, but Matt wants to stay back and make sure they settle in okay, so he’s gonna keep the ship down here. Do you think you can come pick me up?”

“Yeah, sure,” Lance agrees easily, standing. “I’ll be right there, okay? Where are you?”

“By the cliff. If you head towards the three mountains to the left of the castle, we should be somewhere around there.”

“Got it. Be there soon buddy.”

Lance stretches, turns to Allura for confirmation, then heads down to the hangar. It’s been a slow few days and he’s excited to fly again, especially without being chased and shot at.

He turns a corner and sees Pidge and Keith walking the opposite direction at the other end. “Hey!” Pidge calls. “What’s up?”

“I’m going to get Hunk,” Lance explains. “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck!” Pidge says.

“Be careful,” Keith adds. Then, almost unthinkingly, he leans over and kisses Lance on the temple, then continues down the hall.

“What was that?” Pidge asks quietly as they round the corner.

Lance smiles, looking down at his shoes as he heads towards Blue. She purrs and opens her mouth to let him in, seeming pleased at a chance to leave the castle.

“You’re right, Blue,” he says cheerily. “It is a good day.”

* * *

It becomes a strangely regular thing.

Keith will leave on a rescue mission and Lance will follow him to the hangar to give him a good-luck kiss. Lance will split off in battle and Keith will peck him on the cheek before he goes. It gets to the point where Lance finds himself leaning over to kiss Keith before he heads off to the training room or the kitchen or the lounge, and vice versa.

The others are confused about it, and rightfully so, since neither of them will bother to acknowledge what they’re doing. Pidge keeps teasing them about it, Shiro shakes his head fondly, Hunk grins and winks at them, and the Alteans don’t seem to notice. (They probably just think it’s another weird Earth custom.)

And it’s not just the kissing anymore, either. More often than not, Lance finds himself standing next to Keith in the lounge, a little closer than strictly necessary, or choosing to partner with him instead of Pidge or Hunk for training. Even their bickering has gone from spiteful, childish yelling matches to a more playful, teasing banter. And honestly, he can’t explain it, but he really,  _ really _ doesn’t mind.

It all peaks a couple of months after the first battle.

The seven of them are sitting together on the couch, watching a movie on the screen that they’d somehow connected to Pidge’s laptop. There’s a batch of Hunk’s famous cookies in the oven, filling the castle with the smell of soft, sugary treats.

Lance isn’t really paying attention to the movie, though--he’s already seen this one before, and he’s much too distracted by Keith’s leg pressing against his to focus on the plot. There’s a good foot of space between the arm of the couch and Keith’s other leg, but he doesn’t seem eager to move away. Hunk is on Lance’s other side, not nearly as close, and Pidge, Allura, and Shiro are crowded on the other side of the couch.

They’re about half a varga in when the movie starts to flicker, the connection beginning to fizzle. “Ah, shoot,” Pidge groans, staring at the screen in dismay. “I think my battery’s almost out. I’ll go get the charger, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Shiro agrees, standing. “Princess, we should check on the ship’s location while we’re on break.”

“Agreed,” Allura says. “Coran, care to help us out?”

“Of course, Princess.”

Hunk stands as well, turning to head towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna go check on the cookies while you’re setting up.”

“I’ll come!” Lance offers, moving to get up. He’s been meaning to talk to Hunk about this whole thing with Keith, since his friend might have some good advice for him. Almost automatically he moves to kiss Keith on the cheek, and-

And Keith is already leaning in to kiss him, seeming to be on autopilot. Lance panics, but it’s too late to pull back, and suddenly they’re colliding. Lance’s lips are pressed against Keith’s, and his hands are braced beside Keith’s hips to keep him from toppling over. Keith’s hands fly up in surprise, hovering awkwardly for a few seconds before they settle at Lance’s shoulders.

Lance pulls away suddenly, realising what he’s done. “Shit,” he breathes, shaking his head dazedly. “I’m sorry, Keith, I- I didn’t mean to-”

“No, it’s my fault,” Keith assures him, moving away. His cheeks are dusted with a rosy blush, which Lance really can’t help but notice in the heat of the moment. “I was the one who started all of this, and I- I shouldn’t have kissed you. I should apologize to you.”

“No, you don’t have to,” Lance says quickly. “I mean, it’s not like I minded or something. I just- A kiss on the cheek is a lot different than an actual  _ kiss _ , you know?”

“Of course,” Keith agrees, nodding rapidly. “It’s completely different.”

The two of them stare at each other for a few seconds, shifting nervously. Lance searches for something to say to make the situation less awkward, but he comes up empty.

“You really didn’t mind?” Keith asks hesitantly after the long stretch has continued on another few seconds.

“I didn’t,” Lance admits awkwardly, staring down at the couch and scratching the back of his neck. “And you know, I really wouldn’t mind if you- if we did the whole kiss-on-the-lips thing again, either.”

Now it’s Keith’s turn to stare, turning an even deeper shade of pink. “Lance, I… Are you messing with me?”

“What? No! I’m just saying that if you- I’m trying to tell you that I- Oh quiznak, just kiss me if you want to!” Lance cries, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

Keith stares at him for a few seconds, wide-eyed, before he hesitantly moves forward and brings his hand up to cup Lance’s cheek. He leans in slowly, until they’re only a fraction of an inch apart, then stops.

“You’re sure?” he asks in a voice barely above a whisper. Lance nods, bumping his nose against Keith’s on accident. Then he closes the distance between them, brushing his lips against Keith’s again. He closes his eyes and relaxes into the kiss, and feels Keith do the same. Their second full-on kiss is gentler, more intentional than the first, and the fact that it’s not an accident allows Lance to actually enjoy it. He can tell that Keith isn’t a very experienced kisser, but it hardly matters right now.

He pulls away a second later, realizing they don’t have much time before the others return. Keith opens his eyes slowly and stares at him, his cheeks dusted with pink once again.

“Wow,” he breathes.

“Yeah,” Lance agrees. They sit there for a few seconds, staring at one another with something close to awe.

“So,” Lance continues when he hears the others approaching. “Does this mean we don’t need an excuse to kiss each other anymore?”

“I guess it does,” Keith says, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

“Good. I was getting tired of getting up and leaving every time I wanted your attention,” Lance jokes. Keith’s half-smile turns into a full on grin, and he even laughs a little.

“Me, too.”

“Hey, the cookies are ready!” Hunk announces, returning to the lounge with a plate full of freshly baked treats. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Lance says, reaching over to grab a cookie, then splitting it in half and handing one side to Keith. Hunk raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.

“I’m back!” Pidge exclaims, waving a charger in the air. “Coran found another Alten-to-universal adapter, so we can keep watching while it charges.”

“Technically, it’s an Altean-to-Olufan-to-Coweblan-to-universal adapter,” Coran chimes in. “But it still works!”

The others settle in around them, and Pidge starts the movie, but once again Lance finds himself unable to pay attention. He sets his hand palm side up on his leg, and in less than a minute he feels Keith lay his own hand on top of it. They tangle their fingers together one by one, and he smiles to himself, glancing over at Keith. Experimentally, he leans over to kiss Keith’s cheek, and is met with a hand squeeze in return.

He smiles again, squeezing back and settling into the couch as the movie continues.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed : )  
> [My Tumblr](https://djbunn3.tumblr.com/)


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